Posts by Jennifer Oh:

As Summer comes to an end and Fall begins, I found myself at Ikea with my family looking for children’s furniture. It’s time to update my son’s bedroom and where else but Ikea would we go? If you haven’t been to an Ikea before, the main attraction is to go and check out all the room displays upstairs before going downstairs to actually pick the furniture you will end up purchasing. We went to the children’s area and started looking at all of the displays. They display full rooms, as well as specific pieces. I was admiring a whole room display: bed, desk, dresser, and wardrobe and decided to open the wardrobe door. Of course, being a full display and wanting you to see how it would look with items inside, there was a shirt, a pair of pants, AND a karate uniform. So, of course I had to peek. IT WAS TIGER CLAW!

It wasn’t just a Tiger Claw uniform—it was an old school Tiger Claw uniform. One of them had a label that has got to be at least 10 years old! The uniform itself is made almost exactly the same today (and looked to be in amazing condition, thank you very much!). But the tags are no longer made the same way these days. Now, technology allows for the tags to be woven much more intricately (almost like a silk screen).

I was just so excited to see one of our uniforms in the display, I had to take a few pictures and be on the receiving end of a lot of odd stares. But this proves that Ikea has great taste!

For the Spring 2010 Clawmarks, I had the opportunity to interview Steven Lopez. Here is a complete, unabridged version of my interview.

Steven Lopez became the first fighter to win five world championship titles when he captured the men’s welterweight gold medal at the 2009 WTF World Taekwondo Championships in Copenhagen, Denmark.

Lopez, 30, won his first world championship gold medal in 2001 and has been undefeated at the biennial event ever since, winning titles in 2003, 2005 and 2007. He has also won two Olympic gold medals (2000 & 2004) and one Olympic bronze medal (2008) in the last decade, but the world championships are often regarded as being the tougher event due to the depth of the field.

For the 2010 Winter Olympics, Steven has the honor of being a torchbearer. He works tirelessly to help others and to promote Tae Kwon Do. I had the honor to interview him for the Spring 2010 issue of Clawmarks. Not only is he a great athlete, but a truly martial person.

JO: Lets start off with getting some info on you being a torch bearer. That’s pretty cool.

Yeah it’s awesome. It’s something that I’m pretty proud of. I just always remember at the beginning of the Olympics seeing whichever athlete or person of some influence holding onto the torch. It’s just a mark of the beginning of the Olympics and I just always remember that being a great memory for me and it’s a huge honor as well.

JO: You have been doing some community work. Would you tell us about that as well?

SL: Well, I think I always made it a goal of mine, as a kid, if I ever reached a platform where I could reach people and be a positive influence on their lives and inspire them, whether it be something I said or something I did. I’ve had the opportunity to win 2 gold medals and win a bronze and I’ve had the opportunity to go to many businesses and universities/schools to speak on leadership. It brings me great gratification and sense of fulfillment to do that. (more…)

Congratulations to a family of record breakers and long-time supporters of Tiger Claw! The Netherland family—Dr. Dan Netherland, Chad Netherland, and Scott Murphy—now hold of over 14 Guinness World Records combined! This is an incredible achievement, placing them among the elite of World Record Holders. Dr. Dan Netherland was featured in the 2004 Guinness Book of World Records. Chad Netherland and Scott Murphy are in the 2010 Guinness Book of World Records (pg. 76).

According to a recent episode of “The Colbert Report,” seniors are shown as the potential killers they are – and all due to one man, Grand Master Mark Shuey. Grand Master Shuey, who holds black belts in Tae Kwon Do, Hapkido, and Tang Soo Do, began using the cane in earnest ten years ago. Although he’s trained in all of the major martial arts weapons, he’s completely sold on the merits of the cane. “It’s the most practical weapon a martial artist, or anyone for that matter, can learn,” says Shuey. “What other self-defense tool can you carry on a plane or in a casino? Try getting nunchuka past airport security! And if you think about it, what good is it learning a weapon if you can’t take it anywhere?”

Through his techniques of Cane Fu, GM Shuey has been able to inspire and teach many to improve their health and learn self defense. Steven Colbert voices concern regarding the uprising of our Seniors and providing them with a tool that is deadly. Tiger Claw views this as a potential for our Seniors to protect themselves and their loved ones. In 2005, Grand Master Shuey created a Signature Line of products exclusively for Tiger Claw – all of which are lethal weapons…so make sure to treat your elders properly or beware!